Vampires aren’t just for Eastern Europe. In rural Virginia, John and Elizabeth connect over past grief while subsequently dealing with Elizabeth’s vampirism. As the mysterious deaths around town start to pile up, policeman Abe Jackson finds links back to the pair.
John’s grief intersects with a mysterious woman buying his farmhouse. As he grows intrigued by her, the disappearance of a local resident leads the police captain to sense darkness in their small town.
Take from Me, IMDB
I don’t think this was necessarily a “gotcha” movie, but I wasn’t expecting a vampire film at all! I was trying to solve the cases of disappearing people while figuring out who this mysterious woman really was… also, admittedly, reeling at mention of the Virginia and the surrounding areas (because I am a Virginia girlie). But soon hearing about Elizabeth’s (played by Kyla Diane Kennedy) “turn” centuries before present day, and John’s (Ethan McDowell) penchant for collecting blood from hunting, Take from Me changed from a police procedural thriller to a romantic tragedy.
Everyone knows everyone in a small town; Take from Me tells us that people still keep their secrets. While John’s alcoholism brought down his family life, Elizabeth’s curse keeps her ever roaming and waiting in the shadows, trying not to get caught. Abe (Dwayne A. Thomas) slowly catches onto their questionable actions; there is just something about her that he can’t quite put his finger on, and John has been dealt with in the past.
Compared to some horror films, the blood is there but more subdued (which is crazy considering it’s a vampire film). But I liked that, mainly because we have this idea of how vampires should be — think 30 Days of Night with blood massacres everywhere. Take from Me is quiet and thoughtful; the blood we see isn’t spilt for the sake of spilling. It is for survival, and a survival that Elizabeth loathes having to do. In the same way that John deals with his demons by drowning them out, she does the same by starving her urges until the very last second and thinking of the night her children were killed and her life changed forever. Take from Me builds a longing and an anguish throughout the entire movie.
Even though Take from Me is, at its core, a horror film, it is also one that makes the audience bleed empathy and feel their chests tighten with worldbuilding tension. One step closer to resolving a string of murders is that same step that John and Elizabeth take towards resolving their traumas — or collapsing under the pressure of them. Take from Me is a solemn gem that takes you away from the more normal horror fare, and one that brings drama and grief to center stage, making vampirism a little more human.
Take from Me is currently available to stream on VOD. To learn more, visit its website, or follow writer/director West Eldridge on Instagram.
